"Cisco has been smart enough over the years to understand
that if they wanted a technology or the talent around a technology they
would use their deep pockets to purchase those assets rather than
develop them themselves. They have done this over 140 times since 1993."

He contrasts that with Microsoft and says the lack of purchases demonstrates the software giant's mindset:

"They are who they are and they try to be other things
from the inside out. Unfortunately for them, who they are on the inside
isn’t working in the new world order of the online space thus many of
their efforts to stay current have failed and created an image of a
bloated cash cow dependent entity that is not an innovator."

I think Reed may be on to something. When you think about it, Google
itself really innovated one thing: search. Virtually every other
significant product was the result of acquiring a startup and then
refining it at the Googleplex.

Give Eric Schmidt, Larry Page and Sergey Brin credit for knowing good
ideas when they see them. And, their $25 billion a year advertising
juggernaut gives them the deep pockets to act when they please.